This application claims the priority of German application 197 27 690.3-21, filed Jun. 20, 1997, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a glove compartment in the instrument panel of a motor vehicle with a housing closable by a lid. A glove compartment of this type, because of its dimensions, is preferably used for storing glasses, vehicle documentation, cellular telephones, or the like.
An insert that can be pulled out like a drawer is known from German Patent Document DE 44 44 943, said insert being designed for example as a beverage holder or as a storage compartment, and is provided for installation in the instrument panel of a motor vehicle. This known storage compartment consists of a large number of parts that must be installed in the instrument panel, so that its installation is cumbersome and requires considerable time.
The present invention is concerned with the problem of making the installation of a glove compartment in the instrument panel of a motor vehicle more efficient and/or simpler.
This problem is solved according to the invention by a glove compartment arrangement for an instrument panel of a motor vehicle comprising a housing closable by a lid, wherein the glove compartment is located at an air outlet nozzle of a ventilation or air conditioning device of the motor vehicle and forms an assembly that can be inserted therewith into the instrument panel.
The invention is based on the general idea of reducing the number of parts that must be installed when assembling the instrument panel, especially in a motor vehicle. If the glove compartment is located at the air outlet nozzle according to the invention, it is installed when the ventilation or air conditioning device is assembled. If the ventilation or air conditioning device is retrofitted, it is installed in the instrument panel as an assembly together with the glove compartment in a single work step.
This integration of the glove compartment in the vicinity of the air outlet nozzle results in especially advantageous design possibilities of certain preferred embodiments wherein a lid and an air outlet nozzle are framed by a common frame. This integration of the glove compartment in the vicinity of the air outlet nozzle results in especially advantageous design possibilities of certain preferred embodiments wherein an outside of the lid has a strip structure that conforms to an outside of the air outlet nozzle.
With the aid of these measures, the glove compartment and/or its cover can be integrated into the structure of the instrument panel in such fashion that it can no longer be recognized as such from outside. Since the middle nozzles of the ventilation or air conditioning device are located approximately in the center of the instrument panel in most motor vehicles, the glove compartment can preferably be located at this nozzle. If the lid and the middle nozzle each have the same external structure, the lid contour fits completely into the contour of the middle nozzle and cannot be recognized as a lid. This is especially important when the outside of the nozzle has ventilation slots designed as strips, since the transition between the middle nozzle and the lid can be provided between two strips and will thus be invisible from outside.
As a result of the proposed common frame around the glove compartment and the air outlet nozzle according to certain preferred embodiments, the glove compartment and/or its lid become fully integrated visually into the contour of the nozzle. Since the frame characterizes the transition between the instrument panel and the nozzle, a person who was not previously informed would perceive the lid as part of the middle nozzle and would not assume that it was a cover for a glove compartment.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.